Two senior diplomats expelled from Afghanistan (UN & EU)

CSM ^ | 12/27/07 | Mikey_1962

[Mikey_1962]

A senior United Nations official and the acting head of the European Union's mission in Afghanistan were expelled from the country Thursday after the government accused them of holding talks with the Taliban and giving the group cash. UN officials have denied the allegations. Analysts say the incident reflects divisions over growing efforts to neutralize the Taliban by negotiating with their tribal alliances.

The two men, whose expulsion was announced Tuesday, left Kabul Thursday morning, reports Reuters.

UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said the UN staffer had left on Thursday morning on a regular chartered flight to neighbouring Pakistan. Diplomats in Kabul confirmed the EU official, the mission's acting head, had been on the same flight.

While neither organization has formally named the pair, it is common knowledge in the capital that they are Michael Semple [with the EU] and Mervin Patterson, who have lived and worked in Afghanistan for more than a decade – even during the rule of the Taliban that was toppled by the US-led invasion in 2001.

Mr. Semple is British and Mr. Patterson Irish.

The UN, insisting that the men's expulsion is the result of a "misunderstanding," is working to bring them back to Afghanistan, reports Agence France-Presse

[Mikey_1962]

(With a whining tone) "Just let us whine and snivel and give up like we always do"